Today, former Arlington Sam Houston baseball coach Tommy Cantrell passed away, he was 76 years old. He was my high school coach, and besides my parents, he's most influential person in my life. He is the reason why I do what I do.
He was a no nonsense coach. He taught his players more than just baseball. He taught us about team, character, how to play the game, how to respect the game. He also enstilled a sense of pride in us for our school, our team, and for ourselves.
He grew up in Lake Worth and played minor league baseball in the Orioles organization. He won the Florida State League batting title, but could not move up because they were set at 3B with hall of famer Brooks Robinson. He returned home to Ft. Worth and began coaching. He had stops at Trimble Tech and OD Wyatt. Then in 1971, he became the 3rd baseball coach at Arl. Sam Houston, succeeding Bob Tarver and Lance Brown.
Dozens of his players went on to play professional baseball as well as college baseball. However, a large number of players have gone on to become very successful coaches...most notably Los Angeles Dodger bench coach ( and former KC Royals manager ) Trey Hillmen.
I could tell you stories about him for 2 days. Some are true, some are legend. He was a straight shooter, you always knew where you stood with him. He chewed on my backside on more than one occasion, but I was always better for it.
He used to drag the field with his pick up. When the parents started a booster club and bought him a riding lawn mower to drag the field, he was as giddy as we'd ever seen!
My teammates and I played hard for each other...but, make no mistake, Coach was larger than life to us and we never wanted to let him down. I wear his #29 to honor him and will continue to do so.
Coach is now in the kingdom of heaven, but he is alive and well in myself and all the other boys he coached over the years in SE Arlington.
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